Sen. Rand Paul says he delivered Trump letter to Putin

However, deputy White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said the missive was a "letter of introduction" that Trump had written at Paul's request and "mentioned topics of interest that Senator Paul wanted to discuss with President Putin".

Paul has been one of the president's most vocal defenders in recent weeks, defending Trump for appearing to accept Putin's denials of USA election interference.

The Kentucky Republican says Russian and American lawmakers need to work closer than before, saying the lack of dialogue is the biggest problem between the two countries.

The White House told Fox News that Paul asked Trump to write a letter of introduction to the Russian leader.

At the time, uncertainty about what Mr Trump and Mr Putin discussed during the private meeting in which members of the press were also banished from caused a stir.

Trump soon after his summit with Putin had invited the Russian president to Washington this fall, but Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, later said any meeting would be put off until 2019.

Paul, one of the few Republicans to defend Trump's widely panned performance at a July 16 news conference with Putin in Helsinki, said he had traveled to Moscow to encourage diplomacy.

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